For F. Holland Day

For F. Holland Day

In 1907, Fred Holland Day brought a young male model to a rocky outcrop on the edge of the Frederick Ames estate in Brockton.  The photographs would place Nicholas Giancola as Orpheus, nude and holding a lyre, in front of a small cave formed by large adjacent boulders. These rocks and the hill they were set on were known as “Stone House Hill” after the idea that they were “occupied as a dwelling by an Indian family” or perhaps by Native American Sachem Metacomet of Pokanoket, who may have been there during “King Phillip’s War” in 1675 (though no proof of that exists). Ames had named his recently completed estate (ca 1905) “Stone House Hill House”, after this formation on the south-eastern line of his property. In turn, Stonehill College would be named after Ames’ estate. Currently, the rocks have been graffitied, and the paths have become overgrown. This small series explores the history of the place where I have worked for the last two decades in relation to Day’s “Orpheus” pictures.  The images combine multiple techniques, including cyanotype, inkjet prints, and the Ziatype (a variation of the platinum process that Day used extensively). They are all unique images contact printed onto 22×30” cotton rag paper.